All designers know that research is the fundamental basis of an informed design practice – but what exactly constitutes an effective, critical and inclusive research practice in an era of information overload and data bias? This course provides an overview of different techniques of research, addressing archives, secondary source material, common data sets, interviews/oral history, spatial and visual analysis, and object-based research (such as archaeology).  Throughout, we will attend to the ways in which research methods and practices often produce inaccurate, incomplete, or biased pictures of the past, present and future by omitting – either intentionally or unintentionally – certain perspectives, experiences and stories, and elevating others.  In this class, students will develop a critical, ethical and community-centered research practice that will contribute to more rigorous thesis projects and a more informed and inclusive design practice. 

Elective